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Moreso, it was that I felt safe with him, just like this. For whatever reason I knew he wanted that, and I wanted to give him whatever he wanted so he’d never leave. I leaned back into him and my eye lids fluttered as I took a breath. He brushed some messy hair away from my face and kissed my cheek.
Yeah… we fit.
“You look beautiful.”
“My hair is a mess.”
“It’s not.”
I couldn’t help it. My nose stung, and my eyes burned, and unwanted tears rolled down my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. If anything, I should apologize for springing this on you.”
“No, I should be the one apologizing.”
My breath stalled when I turned to see the woman who was so obviously Scotty’s mother standing in my bedroom just outside my bathroom, in front of my unmade bed that I’d had sex with her son in less than twenty minutes before!
“Mother!” Scotty raised his voice. “What the hell are you doing? I told you I’d be right back.”
“I’m sorry.” She took a step forward. “Paris, right? I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry with him. I was just so excited to meet you and was afraid you wouldn’t want to meet me, so I followed Scotty in.”
“You can leave now,” he said as his fingers tightened on my arm.
She looked from me to him, and then nodded solemnly.
“No.” I turned, forcing Scotty to move with me as if we were dancing. It was time to prove to him what he’d been proving to me since day one. I wanted to make this work. “No, don’t. It’s fine, you’re fine. I just… I wasn’t expecting you, and it caught me off guard. I want to meet you.”
“That’s sweet, but Scotty’s right. I should leave.”
“Please, don’t.” I pulled out of his arms and took a step closer to her. “I’m glad you’re here.” I held my hand out. “I’m Paris. It’s nice to meet you. Scotty has said such wonderful things.”
She looked at my hand, over my shoulder at her son, then back at me, and I could feel my face getting flushed. I was about to run away and hide when she made a noise, like a choked laugh or cry, I wasn’t sure which, and wrapped her arms around me, forcing Scotty’s body away from mine. “We hug in this family.”
Affection was something I never had and didn’t think I missed out on, but there was something so comforting about this moment, something I didn’t even fully understand. I wanted so desperately to believe that this kindness and acceptance were genuine and would last. God, please, don’t take this away from me.
She took a deep breath, then grabbed my biceps and took a step back. “Look at you. Stunning. You weren’t lying.” She smiled brightly at Scotty, and I noticed they had the same dimple. “She’s beautiful.”
“I know, now can we take this out of the bathroom?”
“Yes, yes, of course. Come, I want you to meet Sal. I’m Magdalene, by the way, but the people I care about call me Maggie.”
She let me go, and I was glad she walked out of the bathroom because I needed a moment to process.
“You okay?” Scotty wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my cheek. “I’m really sorry about that.”
“I’m fine.” I swallowed all of the confusion, and what I thought was happiness, because it was so much it was nearly choking me. “She’s fine, seriously. It’s all good.”
“All right. If you’re ready, let’s go.”
He pushed me forward, and I snatched a ponytail holder and tied my hair in a messy bun. As soon as we got out of my room, his arm slid around my waist, and he stood next to me. “Mom, seriously?” He shook his head but was biting back a smile.
“What? They’re adorable.”
Maggie was on the floor with four of my cats crawling on her lap. “She’s not wrong.” As soon as they heard me, they came running over, yelling at me on the way. “I know, you’re hungry,” I cooed. “Come on, I’ll feed you.”
“Goodness, there’s another one!” Maggie squealed. “Oh my, how beautiful. Do you have more?”
“No, just the five.”
